


One Of A Kind

by honestcake



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Roy Mustang, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Asexual Character, Asexual Edward Elric, Bedsharing, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Edward Elric, Omega Verse, Partial Memory Loss, Rutting, Xerxesian Omegas are different, but also an alchemist, demiromantic edward elric, ed is a chemist, he just makes his own medicine, memory loss through non-con drug use, nobody told ed that, not your typical a/b/o verse, timeskip from 11 to 16
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:35:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25975291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestcake/pseuds/honestcake
Summary: Later on he lets it speak, demands Edward join the military in a voice no un-presented person should be able to disobey.But Edward Elric says no.---Alpha Roy really wants Edward to become a State Alchemist but he keeps refusing year after year
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Comments: 40
Kudos: 239





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Burn me and I'll let you keep me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15278073) by [ArmitageH](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArmitageH/pseuds/ArmitageH), [Pallascatevo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pallascatevo/pseuds/Pallascatevo). 



> Also inspired by [Hold Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17554721/chapters/41368376)
> 
> Ok So I'm halfway done with the next chapter of Reality Check but then this happened???

Omegas had been a rarity in Xerxes. Half a percent of the population at most. And only a third of those were male.

So when Hohenheim's sons were born to an Amestrian Omega, a Country with a majority of Betas and a relatively even spread of Alphas and Omegas, he had not told her of the special role in society Omegas had in Xerxes.

Yes, they were revered, but from a necessity of self-defence had grown, over generations, Xerxes' most feared warrior class.

And Hohenheim had passed that genetic memory on to his sons.

* * *

Only about two percent of the population present their second gender before the age of twelve. Only a fraction of those before the age of six. There were theories that the use of alchemy could trigger a premature presentation, but Trisha Elric didn't know of those. What she knew was that her sons had always been special, and so she took their presentation as Alpha and Omega in stride. Or as well as she could take anything in stride those days.

After her death, her older, Omega son was left to raise his Alpha brother, and he had to quickly learn not to give in to his brother's every demand, Alpha command or no.

It was Izumi that picked up on that special talent of his, who supplied him with his first scent patches and taught him about the heat suppressants he would need come puberty. And then, she trained him to resist her Alpha commands until he was completely immune to them.

The attempt to bring their mother back goes horrifically wrong. Edward loses a leg and sacrifices an arm to bring his brother back but when Al is lying naked on the bloody floor his eyes are vacant and his smell is that of an unpresented and Ed's Omega roars at the loss of its brother.

* * *

Eleven and ten, the driver had said. But what Roy sees when he follows the trail of blood through the house into the basement doesn't look like the work of an eleven-year-old.

He storms into the neighbour's house and sniffs the air. She's old but there is a clear smell of unpresented in the air. He follows it into a patient room where he sees a boy in a wheelchair clutch the hand of another, catatonic boy lying on a bed. 

Roy takes two steps towards them but his Alpha screams _he's hurt, protect him_ with such a ferocity that it makes him stumble back into Riza. 

He carefully approaches and sees the damage. Missing arm, missing leg. ' _Protect, protect, protect, keep close, protect,'_ The voice of his inner animal demands.

"What happened?" He carefully asks.

Golden eyes lock onto his.

"We just wanted our mom back," the boy whispers. 

He turns back to the body on the bed. If it weren't breathing Roy would think the boy was dead.

"But it took my brother away instead."

It also took your arm and leg, Roy wants to say but doesn't. His Alpha is going crazy with the urge to protect and those words would _hurt_.

So, later on, he lets it speak, demands Edward join the military in a voice no un-presented person should be able to disobey.

But Edward Elric says _no_.

Roy goes into a surprise rut on the train later that day, the scented cloth strips and emergency suppressants Riza has on hand barely taking the edge off, so she eventually resorts to knocking him out on his request. She and Havoc drag him home from the train station, and he calls his aunt for one of her girls. She agrees only because he couldn't have planned for this beforehand. When he tells him Maes is convinced Roy's soulmate must have been on that train and sends him a list of all the Omega passengers. Roy burns it without reading it.

* * *

"Sir, I don't think it's wise to travel alone so close to your rut."

"It's just Resembool, Riza," He reminds her. "I've been doing this twice a year for the past five years, it never takes more than a day."

Roy had been stationed in East City ever since his promotion to Colonel, shortly after meeting the Elrics for the first time. It was fortunate, for that ever since that fateful day he had made it his goal to get Edward to join up. Simply to prove that he could. The still stubbornly un-presented boy had remained as immune to Roy's alpha commands as he had been that first day and it irked him.

Part of Roy hoped that Edward would present as an Omega, just so his command would finally _work_ on him, but the thought of having to find a bond-mate for him amongst the Alpha officers set his teeth on edge.

So he continued to travel to Resembool, meeting the two late-blooming Elric brothers.

Alphonse would probably listen to Roy, the boy had recovered immensely from whatever happened to him during the human transmutation, but Roy hadn't been able to speak alone with him and he feared that he might not pass the psychological assessment.

And that's why Roy was taking the train to Resembool early the next day.

Yes, the timing wasn't perfect, his rut was scheduled to start in a few days and he hadn't taken suppressants because he had a date for the occasion (always Betas, never Omegas, he wasn't ready for that kind of commitment). Havoc was predictably jealous, he hadn't had a non-suppressed rut in years and he would tell anyone who listened that Roy had stolen at least three of his prospective dates during that time. Roy smirked to himself at the thought.

* * *

Resembool hasn't changed in the last six months, hasn't changed in the last five years.

Edward Elric has. He's sixteen now and officially moved back into his own house last year, but Roy knows better than to try and find him there at this time of day. 

He knocks on the door of Rockbell Automail and bestows the young beta that opens it with one of his most dazzling smiles.

Winry Rockbell, to her credit, just rolls her eyes and calls

"Ed! Your Alpha is here!"

Back into the house.

_Mine_. the Alpha roars and the shock must show on Roy's face because Winry is giving him an odd look.

"Don't call him that!" Ed shouts as he makes his way towards them.

He pushes past Winry and tells her

"I'm taking the bastard up to the house, keep an eye on Al for me, ok?"

She nods and closes the door behind them.

"Edward. It's good to see you too," Roy teases as Ed is already pushing and pulling him along up the hill his own house sits on.

"Shut up bastard," is the reply he gets before he freezes in his tracks because something is very very wrong all of a sudden.

The smell of un-presented he had always associated with the Elrics is... Not there.

He suddenly realises that he hasn't seen Ed-without-Al in years. He'd always thought the cub smell came from both of them (Ed would kill him for calling it that). Alphas smelled like Alphas. Omegas smelled like Omegas. Un-presented smelled like cubs. Edward, right now, only smelled like... Edward.

An odd sense of... Disappointment filled Roy's chest.

"Edward." The teen turned around to him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"When did you present as Beta?"

Edward looks at him, shocked. Then he looks to the side, not looking Roy in the eyes as he replies.

"A couple years ago I suppose... People usually can't tell because I'm around Al constantly..."

It made a certain amount of sense. Betas who could refuse a weak Alpha command weren't completely unheard of, but he'd fight anyone who would dare to call his commands _weak._

So he just nods and continues following Ed up the hill. Something other than disappointment has been stirring in his guts since they left the Rockbell house, it started slow and disregardable, but by the time they are halfway up the hill Roy is subconsciously adjusting his pants and now, only a few strides from the front door there is no hiding his problem anymore but he doesn't care does he, because he's following _his Omega_ into his _nest_.

"You've been awfully quiet Mustang," Ed observes. "Everything ok back there? This hill too much for your old ass body?"

Roy grunts and Ed must take that as an answer because he walks up to unlock the door and turns around to say

"Sorry if it's still a bit dusty in places, it's an ongoing battle we don't really want to-"

But at that point, Roy stumbles into him, presses his face against the exposed skin of his neck and is breathing in deep.

"Omega." 

It's only just short of a moan and ends in what is definitely a whine, but Ed is too upset to notice.

"Goddamn cheap-ass store-bought scent patches," he swears. "Should've never ran out of my own, fuck. Don't be fucking weird about this Mustang, stop fucking sniffing me!"

Ed's been making his own heat suppressants and patches for years, they're safer and more efficient than anything money can buy.

He shoves the older man away which makes him whine for real and Ed stops in his tracks.

"Mustang?"

Roy is still trying to chase the sweet scent of his Omega and growls a bit at the arms that keep him from it. Just a bit though because they are still a part of _him_.

"Roy?"

He changes tactics and is now trying to bring their lower halves together.

Ed fights him off.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing bastard? Stop fucking molesting me on my front porch!"

He takes a quick look around and hauls Roy inside, pinning him against the closed door with an automail arm.

"Is this supposed to be some new kind of recruitment tactic? Because you're barking up the wrong tree here, bastard," Ed hisses.

Mustang's shocked expression slips into hurt and confusion at that comment

"Did I hurt you, Edward?" He asks, voice unsure.

"What? No. I just don't appreciate being fucking jumped, what the fuck? Is this how you usually get Omega's to join your little club?" 

He's angry.

"There is no club," Mustang hisses. "You're _mine,_ I'm not sharing you."

"Woah, calm your fucking horses ok? What is this... Are you doing alright?"

He loosens his hold slightly and Mustang is on him again, chasing around his scent glands and something hard is pressing into Edward's thigh and oh. Oh. Oh, fuck no.

"Are you in your fucking rut Mustang? Why the hell would you be travelling?!"

"No rut until Saturday," Roy protests, while he's clearly fucking rutting against Ed's leg. "Stablest cycle in all of Central."

"Well, I guess the air out here is doing good things for you. Maybe sheep are like an aphrodisiac for Alphas...uhm."

Edward looks down to where the Colonel is now humping his leg in earnest, still with his face buried in Edward's neck.

Edward makes a decision and walks over to the phone to call Winry.

"Hey Win, it's me," he says, once the call connects. "Could you do me a favour and keep al with you for a while longer? We have a bit of a... Situation here." 

A pause. 

"No the automail and me are fine, the bastard just got like, turned on by some fucking sheep or something and is acting all crazy now. Stop laughing it's not fucking funny! Just keep him away ok!?"

He hangs up.

He glances at the Colonel. 

"You doing ok down there?"

A whine and an attempt to slide his hands into Ed's shirt are the answer.

"Oh no. Not happening. Keep your bastard hands to your- well just keep them above my clothes. Come on let's get you to the lab I should be able to stop this somehow."

* * *

Roy sluggishly blinks his eyes open.

He's lying on a couch, but it's not the comfortable one in his living room.

_Office_ , he thinks.

There are three blonde humans hovering over him.

_Riza, Havoc, ?,_ he thinks.

There is no gun pointed at his head.

Roy sits up with a start and the three teenagers jump back in alarm.

He looks between them. They all look concerned and Edward looks slightly guilty.

"Where?" He asks.

"Our living room, Sir," Alphonse informs him. I don't think you've been here before.

"Why?" He asks.

"You passed out on me, bastard," Edward snorts, but somehow it's not really convincing.

" _When?"_ He asks.

"You arrived early on Thursday. It's Friday evening now," Winry tells him helpfully.

Friday evening. He was supposed to pick up his date. And then spend the next couple days with her for his...

Shit.

His rut. His fucking rut!

"I can't stay here!" He scrambles upwards. "I need to leave. Now."

"There... Aren't any trains running right now. Probably not for the whole weekend. There's been an accident," Winry again.

"We can put you up!" Alphonse. "There's enough rooms here, don't worry!"

"Alphonse," hisses Ed.

"But Brother, he doesn't have anywhere to go! You can't just kick him out like that," the younger Elric pouts. 

His arms stretch out towards Roy and he is moving towards him and Roy can already see himself be hugged to the younger man's chest while that pleading pout is directed at his elder brother.

Winry puts an arm out and gently holds him back.

"Alphonse. He's not a cat. He's a grown-up man, ok?" She explains to him.

Alphonse's arms lower and he nods like this is something he hears a lot.

This is not how he wanted to spend his weekend.

But he carries some emergency suppressants so if he just puts them down next to wherever he's sleeping tonight he can take them in the morning after his rut has started, right? He should have enough clarity for that left, especially when the last omega in this house died years ago.

He can do this.

He's pep-talking himself so hard he doesn't even think about calling Riza.

They show him to an empty bedroom with wide-open windows that looks like it has only been dusted earlier that day. 

Edward brings him pyjamas that used to belong to their father (Roy does his best not to think too long about _that_ ) and shows him the bathroom. 

Alphonse somehow manages to sneak in for a surprise good night hug and then they leave him alone.

He puts his pills down next to the glass of water he requested for the night, locks the door and goes to bed.

When he wakes up again it is bright outside.

The curtains flutter in the breeze, dust particles dance in the sunbeams they let past and his head is clear.

That is wrong. 

It should be lust addled and instinct-driven.

It's also evidently much clearer than it had been yesterday because thinking back everything that had happened after he had woken up was just slightly off.

He couldn't remember getting on the train to Resembool.

He hadn't called Riza.

He had just accepted the teens' explanation of why he couldn't go home as fact.

Hadn't even put up an iota of resistance. Against a Beta and two un-presented. He was supposed to be Alpha!

There is a knock on his door and it opens before he can answer. 

It's Alphonse Elric, with a big smile on his face.

"Brother made breakfast!" He announces.

"There's pancakes and bacon and eggs. And toast! And stuff to put on it too!"

The teen walks over, grabs his wrist and pulls him from the bed. He coos a little at Roy's sleepy stumbling as he pulls him towards the kitchen.

"You're not wearing your gloves," he remarks.

He doesn't even know where his gloves _are._

"I think brother actually took them so you wouldn't burn down the house when you woke up yesterday. I like the array on them."

He expects Alphonse to tell him something along the lines of 'it's pretty', but instead the boy rattles off a list of carefully worded suggestions on how to improve the energy to accessibility balance.

Maybe Roy _should_ convince him to take the test. He doesn't think Alphonse has it in him to refuse anyone a request.

He gets manoeuvred into a chair on the really very full breakfast table. 

He's seen Ed and Al eat before so he knows he will have to fight for his share of the feast.

He still has to let Riza know where he is, and his scheduled date will be furious with him, but somehow, seeing the young man with the golden hair flip pancakes at the stove is the happiest he has been in years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winry: Oh my God you obliviated the fucking Alpha General  
> Al: PUPPY!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the way to a man's heart goes through his stomach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did a mistake at the end of last chapter where Roy remembered Ed's Beta status, fixed that now!
> 
> I got a comment asking to clarify on the Omegas in Xerxes and basically what I meant to say is they were worshipped because there's so few of them (half a percent of the population, lifted from the fic this is inspired by) but since they started out as the 'weak' sex they started to learn how to defend themselves and eventually that shifted into being a warrior. And in the end you had tiny cute blonde killing machines running around, so basically a gaggle of Edwards.  
> Genetic memory is what makes new generations of animals remember things their predecessors knew. As I'm writing Alphas and Omegas as inner Animals I decided they can have some of that.
> 
> A note on un-presented and betas because in some stories they smell the same: here un-presented basically have a baby smell that lets Alphas and Omegas know this one is young and needs protection and Betas just smell like normal humans, presenting as a beta thus means losing the baby smell while for the other two it changes into their respective smell

Roy calls Riza to inform her that he wouldn't be back until Monday after confirming that the trains were indeed not running until then.

She hangs up on him fairly quickly. He understands why, she doesn't like to talk to him during his ruts, but he didn't even get to tell her that he is not in it right now!

He sighs and puts the phone back. 

His first free Saturday in months, and he's stuck in sheep country instead of bedding a hot blonde. And yet he can't find it in himself to be truly disappointed.

The Elrics had served a literal feast of a breakfast and after he walks to the train station and back through Resembool's luscious green fields he feels rejuvenated, for lack of a better term.

Actually, he has felt that way all morning. 

It's how he feels after the ruts he spends with Betas, only dialled up to eleven.

He can't stop smiling to himself and if his previous experiences are anything to go by this feeling will last well into next week, and he doesn't even care that his cycle apparently packed its bags and said goodbye and bon voyage.

Edward had shown him to where he had stored his father's books, Alphonse, as usual, hovering somewhere near his brother's shoulder.

He walks back there now, to pick a book to read since there was nothing better to do here.

Ed had gone down into his laboratory and Alphonse was conducting his own studies at the kitchen table, at least five open books and graph paper with sketches of arrays that Roy could identify at a glance as being out of his league, so he sat down on the sofa he had woken up on yesterday to read.

The book he picked is thankfully very good at explaining the complex alchemy within it, and he loses track of time almost immediately.

He hasn't actually studied alchemy in years. Like most combat alchemists he knows his array, has perfected it and now he doesn't need to study for it anymore, as long as he has something impressive to show to the review board every time.

As the flame alchemist, there is plenty impressive to go around.

But Alphonse's comments from that morning... Had stung. And to make matters worse this book backed up his comments.

There is a knock at the front door just as Roy's stomach starts to rumble. From his position on the sofa, he can see Al walk to open it. He lets out an excited 'Winry' and Roy relaxes. He hadn't even noticed getting ready to defend the boy. He knows Al is a very skilled fighter, has seen him sweep the floor with his metal limbed brother multiple times and yet... His scent screams _child_ and _vulnerable._

"Hey Al," Winry smiles. "I brought sandwiches."

Roy frowns, takes out his pocket watch and...oh. No wonder he's hungry. 

He can't remember the last time he had gotten so carried away reading a book.

Alphonse is tugging Winry towards the kitchen and only stops to ask him to fetch Edward from the basement/laboratory.

Roy nods and sets the book down, carefully committing the number of the page he stopped on to memory.

The house isn't big so the entrance to the basement isn't hard to find. What is surprising is the door at the bottom of the stairs with a single piece of paper on it that only reads a thrice underlined ' _KNOCK'._

So he does just that. 

Edward wrenches the door open with a shout of 'What!?'.

"W- your neighbour brought lunch, I was sent to fetch you."

He trips over her name. He's known the girl since she was eleven, another small blonde child walking around her grandmother's house. He supposes he should call her Miss Rockbell, but he has seen her grow up just like Edward and Alphonse, and the name Rockbell carried memories of Ishval, where they had found her parents bodies when they had sought them out for a slightly different purpose.

Edward squints at him but steps through the door and closes it behind him.

"What are you mixing up in there anyway?" He asks, genuinely curious. 

He had seen Edward's alchemy in practice, the boy loved to tease him with what he couldn't have, but they had never discussed the chemistry beyond Roy promising him a lab space in the city if he enlisted.

The truth was that he had given up on convincing Edward to join after his third bi-annual trip out here, now these visits were more to check up on the Elrics than anything, but he would never admit that to anyone.

"Mostly researching ways to help Al," is the evasive answer he receives.

"Edward... I know it can't be easy to adapt to his brain injury, but do you really think you need to fix-"

An automail arm pins him to the wall, and he swallows down the growl threatening to escape his throat.

"It's not," Edward hisses, "a brain injury."

Roy lifts his hands in surrender and Edward gives him a shove and walks past him into the kitchen where Winry and Alphonse are waiting.

He frowns to himself then, because Edward had been all up in his face and... Since when was he a Beta?

* * *

After they decimated the sandwiches Winry reminds her two idiots that they had promised to accompany her to the village fair today. She knows they can't say no after feeding them, _equivalent exchange,_ looks at the Colonel and tells him 

"You should come along too."

"We're supposed to deter the other guys from bothering her, but they don't really care about us being there anymore," Alphonse informs the Colonel.

"Why of course I will come along if I can protect the virtue of such a lovely lady," he winks at her.

Her laughter comes out as a snort.

"Sorry, but you're just that side of too old for me, Colonel Mustang," she ribs him.

She knows he's not serious, and he knows she knows because he played dolls with her for an afternoon when she was 12 and Ed and Al were sick and Granny occupied with looking after them and there is just no going back from that.

His kicked puppy face is almost convincing, regardless.

Ed and Al run off to change and Mustang helps her with the dishes.

They all leave the house together, and she links her arm with his while Ed makes faces that she makes right back at him.

Mustang asks Ed if he's jealous and then looks confused when all three of them laugh at him.

* * *

Roy is having fun at the fair. Roy Mustang is having _fun_ at the tiny Resembool fair. 

Havoc can never find out.

The evening ends with ciders and the two Elrics sitting opposite of him and Winry at a table with wooden benches attached to it, each of the boys having grabbed one of his gloved hands and arguing about the arrays while pointing at the circles and when he looks forlornly down at his half-full glass of cider Winry laughs and lifts it to his lips for him.

Neither of them pays any attention to the flash, there are still a lot of things going on around them.

* * *

They pass Sunday in a similar fashion, only there is no festival and Roy offers to cook dinner.

Edward finishes his first plate in under a minute and looks at Roy like he is debating to propose to him.

He thinks that if he'd offer to cook for him every day if he joined the military Edward would actually say yes this time. 

Too bad that it's his day off.

* * *

Riza is... _furious_ when he steps off the train on Monday. 

Angrier than a weekend away due to circumstances beyond his control _that he had already scheduled leave for_ should make her.

"Everything alright, Lieutenant?" It isn't. He can see it.

"At least make sure you're not fucking seen next time, Sir," she hisses while poking a rolled-up paper into his chest. "Even while thinking with your dick you should know what it would mean for your career if people find out they're underage!"

"I... beg your pardon?"

She presses the gossip rag into his chest, and he unfolds it.

**Colonel Mustang spends sex holiday in the East with trio of blondes**

The picture with the article, which details his usual rut cycle, known penchant for blondes and an interview with his jilted date, amongst other things, is of Edward and Alphonse clutching at his hands while Winry tips a glass of cider against his lips. 

Oh.

"I didn't... That wasn't... I would never! Lieutenant, I would never! Winry is like a niece to me at this point and Alphonse hasn't even presented yet! I would _never._ " She has to believe him. 

"I wasn't even rutting! I don't know what happened, I don't even remember getting on the train I just woke up Friday evening, and they told me I had lost consciousness and the trains weren't running and when I woke up on Saturday I was still unaffected. Nothing happened between me and any of them." Unless you counted seducing Edward with his cooking.

"You don't remember getting on the train? The train to Resembool?"

"No. Everything after going to sleep on Thursday until waking up on their couch on Friday is just..." He shrugged his shoulders.

"You seem remarkably unconcerned," Riza points out.

And. He is, isn't he? It's just. Part of him, and it's the part he can usually rely on in these situations, his Alpha part, seems to know he's safe. His base instincts say he's safe, so he isn't concerned about it.

He shrugs again.

"I had to suppress my last rut; it's probably just one of the many side effects of those pills," he reasons.

Rut suppressants on a whole are safer than heat suppressants by far, but they still mess with your system and are generally not meant to be taken pro re nata. Maybe he needs to switch to a different brand.

"We need to release a press statement about this," Riza tells him. "Think about what you want them to print."

"The truth works. I've known these kids since they were 11, I'm trying to secure one of them for the State Alchemist Program and this weekend the trains weren't running, so they invited me along to the local fair."

"They're clutching at your hands, Sir."

He lifts his gloved hands.

"They're alchemists, Lieutenant," he reminds her.

"Very well sir. Havoc is waiting with the car, go home and get changed." She eyes his obviously too-long-worn uniform pointedly. "I'll go back to the office to get that statement out to the press."

With that, she turns on her heel and marches out of the station.

He looks down at the gossip rag and carefully pockets it. It's a nice picture. The setting sun is hitting Edward in a way that makes his hair look like spun gold.

He makes his way toward the military parking space where Havoc is indeed waiting for him. Roy steels himself but the Lieutenant doesn't comment between throwing away his cigarette and opening the door for him.

It doesn't last of course. Once they're driving towards his house, and he can't jump ship as easily, Havoc looks at him in the rearview mirror and grins.

"So, Chief. You could've told me you had a thing for blondes from the east."

"Havoc," he warns.

"We could've been perfect together!" He clutches at his chest dramatically.

"Just get me home, Lieutenant."

* * *

His phone is already ringing when he steps through the front door.

He hurries towards it and answers, Havoc strolling inside behind him, so he points towards the shoe rack and the Lieutenant toes his boots off with a snort. Roy is still wearing his.

"Can you actually cook or was that the only dish you know?"

The question startles him into answering automatically.

"I'm quite proficient in both Amestrian and Xingese cuisine."

A humm comes through the line and Havoc looks at him in puzzlement.

"Edward?" He realizes. "Why are you asking."

"I'm in if you make me breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Unless I'm out of town I mean. Basically, I don't want to eat at the canteen."

"What?"

"I'm taking your stupid test if you feed me in exchange. I'm stuck in my research and I need your dumb military resources. When is the next one happening?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy: I would *never* sleep with Alphonse or Winry you *have* to believe me
> 
> Riza: God he thinks I can't even count to three


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> speed running through central

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say that Ed's Sexuality and Romantic Orientation isn't something he inherited from Xerxes.  
> That's all him.
> 
> um. past Maes/Roy is mentioned here briefly and in this society that's treated with something like homophobia. just fyi

They agreed to meet up in Central on the day before the written exam. They will be staying at the Hughes' and while Roy would never wrangle cooking duties away from Gracia - it would be an insult to do so - he decides to take Ed out to lunch at his favourite South-Xingese place.

Really, he just wants to know if Ed can handle spicy food. Properly spicy, not Amestrian spicy.

His mother hadn’t been the only Xingese woman employed by his aunt.  
Jun was younger than his mother had been, but she taught him some of the language (not the dialect his mom had spoken but it was the closest he could get) and cooked him food (again: not quite right but _there_ ) and she opened the restaurant with the money she had made as a working girl.

She would never serve an Amestrian the really spicy stuff but… Ed didn’t look all that Amestrian.  
Roy didn’t know where the boys’ father had come from, but he had seen enough pictures of their mother to know that she at least was Amestrian. Edward hardly ever talked about his father.

So Roy can't actually know if Ed can eat spicy food but if he's supposed to cook for him he really has to know and there is just no better way to figure it out than this, right?

And well. Ed's face, when he tucks into a steaming vindalho, is nearly orgasmic so that answers that question.

"Oh my gods. This is the best thing I've eaten since Teacher cooked for us. Please tell me you can make this at home Mustang! This is Xingese right? You said you can do Xingese!"

"It's actually a Xingese variety of something originally Aerugonian but yes, the restaurant's owner actually personally taught me this one," he smirks.

Edward squints at him.

"How do you know so many people in Central?"

"Why, I grew up here, Edward!" He says, throwing out his arms for show.

"Ah. That explains the-" He makes a vague hand gesture at Roy.

"You just indicated my everything," Roy says, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, exactly," Edward grins.

"Maybe I'll show you exactly where I grew up one day when you're old enough."

The teen looks puzzled by that and Roy smirks.

* * *

"So how do they do that with food?" Edward wants to know.

"Spices, Edward. Spices."

* * *

Maes looked from the boy that had entered his house to his best friend and back. This had to be a joke. When Roy had announced he would bring over a candidate for the State Alchemist exam to stay with them he had expected anything but this.

  
“Edward, right?” He asked the boy (please don’t be the _younger_ one).

He got a confused nod back as an answer and smiled his friendliest smile at him. 

“Please excuse us for a second.”   
  
And with that he hauled Roy off into the kitchen by his collar, fully exploiting the height advantage he had. 

"You," he growls at him.

Roy tries to fight back for a few minutes, but Maes has always been stronger, taller, in control. They have fought this one out years ago.

It doesn't take long before Roy relents and bares his neck to him so Maes lets go of him.

"You said you wouldn't try to recruit them again until they're 18. You said you were just visiting to check up on them!"

"Maes! Ed approached me about this! He called me after my last visit and asked to take the test! I swear I was only checking up on them these past years! They performed taboo alchemy when they were 11 and 10!"

Maes stares him down because this isn't the whole truth, it never is with Roy.

"Well, maybe checking up included a bit of testing if he would respond to my commands but…"

"I can't believe you. You never told them! They're kids, Roy!"

He notices movement in the corner of his eye and turns to see Ed standing in the kitchen door, looking between him and Roy.

"Well, I guess I don't have to ask who used to top, do I?"

Roy turns a deep pink and Maes grins at Edward.

* * *

Minutes earlier Ed is still standing in the hallway, unsure of what to do when he gets approached by another Omega. She's beautiful and warm and reminds her of his mother so much that it aches.

"Hello," she introduces herself. "I'm Gracia. This is Elicia." She gestures behind her and a little girl pokes her head out behind her leg.

"Hi," Ed breathes and drops to a crouch, offering his left hand to her. "I'm Ed." 

Being protective of children was one of the few parts of his second gender that he didn't actively try to suppress. 

Children in turn seemed to have an uncanny ability to pick up on the fact that he would never hurt them.

Elicia giggles and extends out her own hand to him which he shakes enthusiastically.

He gets up again and offers Gracia his right hand, and she gasps when she feels the automail under his glove but recovers quickly.

Suddenly a wave of pheromones slams into him that makes him cringe outwardly.

Gracia sighs and apologises.

"When my husband and Roy get into it, they tend to stink up the place, I'm sorry, I know it must be a lot, especially for an Omega of your age."

His hand goes to his neck where his home-made scent patch is securely hidden behind his hair. 

"You shouldn't be able to smell me," he whispers.

"Oh… oh I can't, don't worry," she reassures him. "I'm. Well. We haven't told anyone else yet, but I'm pregnant. I can just… tell. It was like that with Elicia too," she smiles.

"Ah…"

The silence is uncomfortable, so he thinks of something else to talk about.

"I didn't think Mustang would bring me into the house of a rival…"

"Oh, no," Gracia reassures him. "They're very good friends. Roy just needs someone to keep him in check sometimes and that's usually Maes or Riza since he doesn't have a mate. Well, actually Maes and he used to date, but that was before my time."

She looks at him as if she's searching for something. 

Judgement, he realises, belatedly. Relationships between two Alphas aren't common and people tend to judge what they don't know. Gracia couldn't know that he knew a bit more about 'weird' sexualities than your average country bumpkin, so he just nods his head in understanding.

She smiles again at that.

"I should rescue Mustang, I think. I feel like I'm the reason he's in trouble right now."

Gracia looks like she wants to stop him. 

He understands, usually, an Omega breaking up two fighting Alphas isn't the brightest idea, the pheromones are the same that get put out during Alpha commands after all, and they mess with your head.

"Don't worry," he reassures her. "I can handle it."

* * *

"How, how did you-" Roy stutters. 

He has to get himself back under control, dammit! 

"Gracia told me," Edward grins, and, ah, that makes sense.

Roy clears his throat and straightens his uniform.

"Listen, I would appreciate it if you could-" 

Edward raises his hands in defence.

"Whoa, don't worry Mustang, I won't tell yours if you won't tell mine."

Ah, the human transmutation, of course.

"Very well," he agrees.

* * *

Edward finishes the written exam in under three hours.

He finds Roy in Maes' office and startles them both.

It takes a few minutes for him to explain that no, he hadn't given up halfway through, he had finished the exam.

* * *

  
  


Somehow Führer Hakuro has heard of Edward.

It isn't that surprising, given that without Roy's backing he wouldn't even have been permitted to take the exam in the first place. 

Anyway, Hakuro has heard of the prodigious teen-alchemist and comes to oversee his practical examination in person.

Edward's spear demonstration leaves Hakuro sweating and puts Roy in a good mood for the rest of the day.

He just hopes it hasn't cost him his certification.

* * *

The Fullmetal Alchemist.

Roy didn't know Hakuro had a sense of humour.

* * *

They drive back to East City the day after Edward gets his watch. 

Elicia definitely hugs 'Big Brother Edward' longer than him, and how is that fair in any way?

The train ride isn't very interesting despite being crowded, especially because Edward tips over and starts snoring against his shoulder five minutes in.

Roy sighs and shifts them both into a slightly more comfortable position.

With half an hour to go Edward wakes up and blinks blearily out of the window.

"They're nice," he states apropos of nothing.

"Hmm?" Roy asks.

"The Hughes. They really love each other, don't they?"

"They're true mates," Roy tells him. 

It almost doesn't sting anymore.

Edward humms.

"I don't think I've ever understood it until now. I mean I think my mom loved my dad, but I was too young to understand when she died. And Winry's parents weren't really around. I never understood what people meant when they talked about love but seeing them together…"

Roy can't answer him, so he just stares out of the window as Edward sighs.

* * *

It's late when they arrive. Ed tried to sleep most of the way, but he doesn't feel rested. The ride was bumpy and shook him awake more often than not.

Not that he had let Roy know that, the man's shoulder had been surprisingly comfortable.

A military guy is surveying the crowd disembarking the train and when he spots them he comes over and gives a lazy salute. 

"Second Lieutenant Havoc, meet Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist," Mustang introduces.

"Mayor huh?" Havoc looks down at him. He's even taller than Mustang. Is everyone in the military freakishly tall?

"So you're the new boss?"

Wait what?

"I am??"

"You outrank everyone on my team, except for me, of course, _Major_ Elric," Mustang confirms.

"Huh."

"Want me to take that?" The lieutenant gestures at the suitcase Ed is carrying in his automail hand.

Ed eyes him up and down, shrugs and holds it out for him.

He snickers when Havoc predictably stumbles under the weight.

Mustang sighs. 

"Please tell me that you packed anything besides books." 

He rubs at his eyes.

"Why? I'm getting a uniform, right?"

"Just take us to the car, Lieutenant," Mustang sighs again.

"Want me to take that back?" Ed asks, but Havoc shakes his head.

"No, I've got it."

Ed just rolls his eyes and follows him towards a black military car.

Ed falls asleep against the window once they get in the car and only wakes up when Mustang gets out to walk towards a neat townhouse on the other side of the road.

Ed whistles.

"He lives here? Can't be cheap."

"I guess it's affordable on a Colonel's salary," Havoc shrugs.

"I'm gonna drive you to the dorms where you can get settled in today."

"Don't worry about it, I'm getting out here too."

* * *

Roy has barely removed his boots when there is a knock at the door.

Irritated, he opens it, expecting Havoc with a message from Riza he forgot to pass on or similar.

Instead, it is…

"Edward? What are you doing here? Havoc was supposed to take you to the dorms."

He looks past him to the street but the car is gone.

The teen just snorts.

"And how are you going to make me breakfast if I'm sleeping in the dorms?"

Roy hadn't really thought about that, but:

"I don't have a guest room, you can't stay here."

Edward just sucks part of his bottom lip into his mouth for a second and then shoulders past him. 

Thankfully he sees the shoe rack and makes quick process of his boots.

Then he marches upstairs and all Roy can do is follow him into his bedroom.

"You have a king-size bed," Ed states and quickly strides over to the side with the empty bedside table and flops down.

Roy is completely lost.

"Edward. Fullmetal. You- this. This is highly inappropriate!"

The teen cracks open a single golden.

"What? Are you trying to weasel out of your side of the arrangement now?"

"No, but. This is my bed!" Roy protests.

"Ah, don't worry, if you bring someone over for sex I'll just sleep on the living room couch." He flaps a hand and closes his eyes again.

Roy just splutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy: You can't just sleep in other people's beds, Fullmetal!  
> Ed: *sqints* this sounds like a made up excuse to get out of feeding me, I don't buy it


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the end of this chapter ed comes across like a big asshole but conscience is calling in the next one, don't worry

Ed wakes up feeling warm and comfortable and that’s all wrong.

Usually, his automail leeches all warmth from him at night. Now it’s pressed up against something warm. Warm and… soft? But not too soft. A leg. A clothed leg against is automail leg, he realizes now. A chest pressed to his back, an arm slung across his waist and… yeah that’s a dick at his ass cheek. The bastard is suffering a case of morning wood.  
Ed sighs. Figures the colonel would be a sleep-cuddler. Probably touch starved. Hell, Ed will probably end up touch starved in this city, without Al.  
Now, what to do about this?  
It _is_ nice to wake up without his ports aching for once.  
Mustang doesn’t repulse him either, he’s known the man long enough, and even though he can be an annoying bastard he wasn’t all bad.  
Mustang is an Alpha. He’s an Omega. Is his brain screwing with him?  
Ed scrunches up his face in thought.  
No, he still doesn’t feel anything. As few days as he has spent in the school that taught children from Resembool and the surrounding villages, he still was around for all the other kids going through puberty.  
An Alpha’s hard dick pressed to his ass should do something other than irritate him because the body cuddling isn’t as comfortable as it could be. But that’s all there is.  
So this is fine. He could do with Mustang’s dick being more comfortable but it’s fine.  
What about Mustang’s brain though? He shouldn’t be able to smell that he was cuddling an Omega, Ed knew his homemade scent patches were better than that, but Gracia had told him that scent wasn’t anything. And Mustang’s Alpha part probably remembered. He had deliberately erased Mustang’s memories after the incident with the faulty scent patch in Resembool, but he knew better than to assume it had any effect on the actual Alpha’s memory. That part of a person ran more on instincts than anything else.  
So it was probably trying to protect the Omega it knew was there. Ew. Ed could take care of himself, thank you very much.

Well. He couldn’t protect himself from his automail siphoning his body heat. Hm. Stupid Alpha was good for at least one thing then.  
So how did he make sure this would happen again? Let Mustang wake up like this and tell him he was O.K. with it? The man would probably freak if he knew he was cuddling his 16-year-old subordinate while having an erection. So. Mustang couldn’t know. That meant slowly extracting himself from the man’s embrace. Maybe for the future mixing p something that would ensure the man would never wake before him in this position? He could mix it into his night scent patch so it would only take effect if Mustang was already this close. Then it would be his own fault and not drugging the man without his knowledge (again), right? Were their physiologies different enough that he could find something that would knock out Mustang but not himself?  
Ed’s mind was already working in overdrive while he extracted himself from his C.O.’s sleepy embrace.

* * *

Roy wakes to the shower running. He tries to think back to last night. He doesn’t usually bring people home outside of his ruts, and he wasn’t… Oh. Edward.  
Roy groans as he remembers how the young alchemist has inserted himself into his life.  
He groans again as he becomes more aware of his body. Whatever. Ed chooses to live with an Alpha in the prime of his life, he has to accept the consequences.  
With a huff he gets out of bed, puts on his robe and makes his way o the kitchen. Better to get started on breakfast already or his guest will get cranky.

Ed stomp-clanks his way down the stairs ten minutes later. He eyes the breakfast table critically, golden eyes narrowed to slits.

“Whassat?” he asks and then yawns.  
  
Apparently, not even showers could fully awaken an Elric.

“Chocolate waffles. Fresh.” Roy gestures behind him at the waffle iron.

Edward grunts in what sounds like appreciation.

“Coffee?”  
  
“Help yourself.” He shows Edward the carafe on the counter and hands him a mug from the shelf.

  
  
He downs the coffee, black and hot. Then he fixes a second cup with an unholy amount of sugar and begins shovelling waffles down his throat.

Roy, partway done with his own, much smaller stack of waffles clears his throat and Edward looks up at him quizzically.

“It’s your first day at work today,” he begins.

Ed nods. 

“You will have to apply for a uniform first thing. You aren’t actually required to wear it in the lab but-”  
  
Ed waves him off and swallows.

“I will. Figure it will get me some respect. Can’t stand people treating me like... “ He trails off.

  
Roy decides to file that away for a later date.  
  
“That’s your decision. I was about to explain that I also expect you to help out in my office at times. You are officially part of the team, the only other alchemist besides me so you might need to step in when cases have an alchemical element to them.”  
  
Edward nods in understanding. 

  
“As I already explained, you outrank the other members of my team, but you would do good to listen to my adjutant, First Lieutenant Hawkeye. She is the de-facto office manager and the only other Alpha on my team. I know this means nothing to you, but she has... _ah…_ other methods to be persuasive besides her Alpha commands.”

“Who says I won’t listen to _her_ Alpha commands? Maybe it’s just your shitty ones that don’t work on me,” Edward smirked.

Roy just continues, not rising to the bait.

  
“Grumman, the commanding officer of Eat City will want to see a demonstration of your alchemical talents. Please don’t attack him with a spear, he is significantly older than Führer Hakuro and the grandfather of a dear friend of mine.”

“What happened to the Pirate guy who used to be Führer anyway?” Edward wants to know, not making any promises, Roy notices.  
  
“Bradley? According to Hakuro who… ‘removed him from office’, he had joined some kind of religious cult and decided to put its priorities before the citizens of Amestris. Hakuro’s team made a move and Bradley hasn’t been seen since.”

“So a coup.”

“Not officially,” Roy amends. “I am not privy to the exact details.”

“Bet that pisses you off.”

Roy doesn’t deign to reply to that.

* * *

After Edward has been outfitted with his new uniform Roy takes him to meet his team.

He quickly takes in their first reactions.  
Havoc looks pained and Breda pats his back, Falman salutes them, Fuery quickly glances away and Hawkeye is approaching him with a bundle of paperwork.  
  
“You’ve fallen behind, Sir.”  
  
“Ah, yes. Of course.” He accepts the papers. “Would you mind showing Fullmetal here the ropes? I shall accompany him to the labs after lunch.”

He has packed them both homemade sandwiches. Usually, he would just buy lunch at a café, but doing that too often for two people, especially if one of those two people was Edward Elric, would be a strain on his bank account.  
  


* * *

  
The Alpha lady has sent Mustang away and now Ed is standing awkwardly in the outer office.

“Uhm,” He turns away from the door Mustang has disappeared through to address the room. 

“Hi. I’m Edward. Elric. Edward Elric.”

They all look towards who must be Lieutenant Hawkeye, from Mustang’s description this morning.  
  
“First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye,” She introduces herself.  
“This is your desk, Major Elric.”  
  
There is someone already sitting at ‘his desk’.  
  
“Uhm,” the man says.  
  


Second Lieutenant Breda is moving over next to Warrant Officer Falman, _away_ from Second Lieutenant Havoc,” She smiles. It’s not a friendly smile.  
The squat red-haired man scrambles to move from the desk.  
  
Havoc looks almost heartbroken. Ed makes sure to mumble a ‘Sorry’ his way as he takes his seat.

  
  


His eyes fall on the last occupant of the office he hasn’t been ‘introduced’ to yet.  
  
“Sorry I haven’t caught your name?”  
  
“Master Seargent Kain Fuery,” he introduces himself. There is a bitemark very deliberately placed to show above his uniform collar. A mate bite.

“I thought they didn’t allow Omegas in the military,” Ed blurts out, then cringes. “Sorry, that was rude you don’t have to-”

“No, it’s fine,” Fuery reassures.  
  
“We can’t be officers unless we enlist via the State Alchemist program, and even then never rank above Major. And every enlisted Omega must be mated to an Alpha officer. Usually, only the ones married to Betas are the ones that choose to sponsor us, so there aren’t a lot of us in the military in total.”

“That’s a load of bullshit wow,” Ed remarks and Havoc snickers.  
  
Hawkeye sighs and tells them to go back to work, walking towards Ed with some papers herself, presumably to show him the ropes.

He groans internally.

* * *

  
His new lab is _glorious_. He can work with this. He can definitely work with this.

“Gods, you should’ve brought photos of this back with you, I would’ve said yes years ago what the fuck, Mustang?” He gives the man in question an excited shove.

“I’m glad you like it, Fullmetal, but please do watch your language while on the clock, won’t you?” He glances pointedly at the lab manager who showed them to the right room.

“Yeah, yeah whatever, see you at dinner.” Ed isn’t paying any attention to him any more.

There are so many chemicals he is allowed to use, his heart is beating higher.

In the shower, he had realized that his ‘sleeping aid’ for Mustang has to fill the same receptors an Omegas’ scent would usually dock on to, or he himself would pass out as soon as he’s wearing the patch.  
He knows a lot about Omega brains because he’s been treating his ‘condition’ for years, and almost as much about Alpha brains, even though his research for Al was actually mostly alchemically focussed. 

It’s almost too easy to come up with a solution that should work _in theory_. Too bad he can’t actually test it on anyone before tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ed: Now kids, before you test new medicines you just invented on Generals in the military always make sure they won't remember it afterwards. Safety first!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Long talks and ~~walks on the beach~~ bullshit science.
> 
> OH AND WARNING: PTSD ISHVAL MASSACRE DREAM!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, I only had high school biology but even I'm pretty sure none of this would ever work.
> 
> I'm also sorry for how late this is?
> 
> ADHD and depression are fighting in me and this resulted in like five different one shots I started and abandoned and I still haven't even finished the next chapter of reality check *facepalm*
> 
> And I'm sorry for how little time this actually covers.
> 
> It's a lot of long talks about Ed's feelings and Ed's 'science' that is definitely just made up bullshit irl.

Roy knows he isn't very tall for a male Alpha.

Scratch that. He's tiny and he _knows this_. 

That doesn't make this any easier.

"Second Lieutenant Havoc. I need your opinion on some office supplies."

The whole team looks at him lingering in the doorway to the hallway where he had disappeared to only minutes earlier.

They all know that this is _code;_ they're not _stupid._ Wouldn't be working for him if they were.

To their credit, they all busy themselves with paperwork after only a brief glance at him. Except for Havoc, of course.

"No, problem, Sir," he grins. "Lead the way."

And so Roy walks the walk of shame back to the supply closet with its stupidly high shelves and its boxes full of important stuff on the very top of those shelves.

Next time he's just going to send Havoc to fetch the stuff for him in the first place.

The track is just long enough to think about how weird Betas are.

How they can be as tall as Havoc and Falman, or tiny and cute like Edward.

He screeches to a mental and physical halt. Where the hell did that come from. Yes, Edward is short, but he's also 16, he's still going to _grow_ , most likely.

And cute? No. He shakes his head as if to dislodge the thought.

"Uh, Chief? You O.K.?" 

"Yes, sorry. Just thinking…"

Havoc sends him concerned glances on the rest of the way.

* * *

The rest of the day is thankfully uneventful.

Roy decides to forgive Edward for ignoring him earlier and goes to pick him up at the lab.

When he arrives the younger alchemist is arguing with someone on the phone.

"What do you mean, unethical? It's for science!"

"No, it's not just for my personal gain, Al!"

"Fine. Fine. I hope you know that I wasted a whole day on this then."

"No, I won't do it, I promise."

"O.K... Bye, Al. Say hi to Winry and Granny yeah?"

Roy decides to announce himself then.

"Do you two disagree often?" He asks in lieu of a greeting.

The boy startles. 

"Oh… No, it's just with the," he makes a gesture that is probably supposed to represent _something_ , "Al is just too good sometimes. He won't let me do anything fun…"

Roy arches an eyebrow.

"Do I want to know what kind of 'fun'?"

"Probably not," Edward grins. "Are we going home? I'm starving."

With Havoc already home for the day, they have one of the carpool drivers drop them off.

Roy doesn't realise why this is a tremendously bad Idea until he sees the face of the young soldier behind the wheel after they both leave the car at the same address. Great.

Ed snickers.

"I don't know what's so funny about this. That's all the lower ranks are going to talk about tomorrow, you know?" 

"Stop whining." 

He didn't. He wasn't. Roy Mustang doesn't _whine_. Much.

"It's just gossip. I'm used to it. You wouldn't believe how many times I heard people say me and Winry are doing it?"

That. Was absolutely not the same. Winry was Edward's age. And female.

While society would never judge him, the Alpha for sticking his dick _anywhere_ , they would absolutely judge Ed, the Beta, for sleeping with another man.

But more importantly.

"You didn't?"

"Didn't what?" Ed asked, suspicion in his voice.

"I mean, you and Winry, you're not…"

"Oh ew, Mustang! She's like my sister. Gross."

That made Roy feel… light, somehow? He couldn't really explain it.

"Besides," Ed continued while they were finally walking towards the house, "I don't do… sex and all that."

The light feeling vanished.

"What… what does that mean?" It almost didn't come out choked.

"Never felt attracted to someone that way. Like. I was around my classmates during that whole puberty shit. They had magazines. And I mean I can admit that some of those girls and Alpha's and Omegas and whatever they were shoving in my face were good looking, but I didn't want to like, bang any of them."

"You… thought they were good looking but you weren't attracted to them?" Roy tries to wrap his head around that statement.

He belatedly notices that they have reached the door during Edward's explanation and opens it to let them inside.

"Uhm? Yeah?" Edward shrugs as he's toeing his boots off.

"I don't have to look at people with my dick to see they're attractive. I have eyes and a brain. It's about bone structure and symmetry, mostly. Like you. And me for that matter. Very symmetric, slightly exotic, good bones… we'd get lotsa money from those magazines."

Roy chokes on his own spit. Ed just rolls his eyes.

"Don't pretend you don't know this. We get gossip from the cardinal cities even back in Resembool. Especially east. You have a reputation."

Roy clears his throat.

"So, uh, I suppose you saw that…"

"The sex holiday one? Winry framed it."

"Great…"

* * *

Sand shifts under heavy military boots.

The desert heat is dry and suffocating.

He looks down at the city and red eyes look back at him. 

Stare at him. Through him. Into his very soul. None of them move. None of them blink. They just wait for him to end this.

Raise his hand and end their lives with a snap of his fingers.

His right arm lifts slowly. He doesn't want it to. He tries to bring it back down, struggles, pants, but the steady rise can't be stopped. 

He wraps his left hand around his biceps and pressed down, down, down, but still, his arm rises, fingers poised to snap.

The array on his glove bleeds red, red like the eyes staring back at him, and for a moment he hopes it won't work like this, smudged in red and fabric soaked through, but he knows better. Knows where the blood is coming from. The array is on his hand now and the wound will never bleed enough to wet his fingertips.

He snaps and they burn.

Again and again and again they burn.

He can hear their cries, seared into his brain forever.

But above that?

"-ustang!"

"Mustang!"

"Roy, wake up!"

He snaps his eyes open. Panting heavily his eyes find Edward's in the dimly lit room.

"You were having a nightmare," is the only explanation he gets, before the boy shrugs and lies back down, while Roy's brain is still trying to make sense of the situation.

Then he remembers cooking dinner for him and Edward and eventually winding back up in his bed next to the blonde, just like last night.

He rubs his eyes, checks the clock and sighs. No use going back to sleep now, even if he could after that.

* * *

"So, do you get those a lot? Nightmares, I mean…"

Breakfast today is bacon and eggs, fried to perfection. Mustang doesn't eat a single piece of the bacon.

A humm is all that Ed gets for an answer.

"I used to, a lot," he confesses. Right after that whole mess with mom and," he gestures to his automail arm.

"It's gotten a lot better. Sleeping next to someone helps, helps me at least…" he trails off.

"I mean, I had Al, for the most part, but in those first few months, when he was all… not quite there… Sleeping pills helped a lot." 

He glances up at Mustang, who cringes.

"Can't take those for multiple reasons," the older man confesses.

"The more harmless ones being that I have to be alert when emergency calls come in from work during the night and that it's hard to dose them in a way that will ensure that I wake up with my alarm in the morning due to my irregular work hours."

Ed humms. He could help. He'll, he's basically created half of the solution to the problem yesterday. And if Mustang contents… then Al can shove his concerns about ethics where the sun doesn't shine…

"What if I could… no. I know I can. What if I made something that would allow you to sleep a dreamless sleep but wake up whenever you need to? Non-addictive, no chance of a deadly overdose, completely safe?" He braces himself.

"I think… that the military would be very interested in something like that. I'm not the only officer with PTSD, obviously. But how would that work? None of the sleeping pills on the market are remotely like that." Mustang looks genuinely interested.

"Ah… so, don't get your hopes up too high… this idea I have will only work on Alphas. I mean I could maybe figure out a way to make it work for Betas but… that might take a while," Ed confesses.

Mustang squints at him.

"Why would it only work on Alpha's?" 

"It should be able to reverse engineer it for Omega's too, but those are pretty rare in the military from what I hear…"

"That doesn't answer my question-"

"O.K., O.K.," he relents. "So basically Alphas and Omegas have these extra receptors for the other's pheromones and shit, right? So if I make something that docks there but tells the brain to go to sleep? Boom. Cause of the way those pheromones work it has to be applied to another person though, so that's how the waking up thing is no problem. As soon as the other person moves away from you the pheromones stop getting to your brain and you're good to go."

"I can smell an Omega without scent patches from two blocks away if the wind is blowing in the right direction, I don't think your theory-" 

Ed shuts him up with a glare.

"I would obviously adjust the radius. That's what I probably need your help with though, I doubt they would send me any… test subjects." 

"My help?"

"I'd need a couple nights to figure out how strong to make those hormones," he mumbles. "And for that, I need an Alpha to… be in close contact with the patch and a warm body."

"You need me to… spoon you at night." Mustang finally realizes.

"For science," Ed explains.

"For science."

"Hey, at least you're going to get some damn good sleep out of it."

He can see Roy weighing his options.

"How high are the chances that you can make this work for Betas somehow?" He finally asks.

"Uh… with enough time and resources I'm sure I can find a way?"

"I think the military would be very interested… I'm going to make this your priority research project, officially. You can still work on your private research on the side, of course."

Finding something to bring Al's Alpha back.

Mustang doesn't know the whole truth about that, of course.

Edward sighs and nods. 

"Sounds like a good plan. I'll have something ready by tonight."

"By _tonight_? Edward, this is going to be tested on _me_ , I'd rather have you spend a bit longer on this than-"

"Don't worry your pretty head! I know what I'm doing, Mustang."

The colonel just splutters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh, uh you just want to see a funny joke here, I know, but I'm really insecure about this chapter so please tell me what you think about it? (/-\\)
> 
> ________
> 
> Ed: so basically I can say anything I want and because you're the author it's now real science?
> 
> Me: yep.
> 
> Ed: cool. I'm taking up botany next to study those trees that grow freshly cooked stew all year long.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fight fight fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one... I just really wanted to update before sleeping.  
> To prove I'm not dead....
> 
> I'm trying the Uni thing for a third time now, so I have a lot less time on my hands to write and I'm also trying to write for the upcoming royed week so I haven't been updating at all in forever, I'm sorry OTL
> 
> I also tossed my old grammar checker and installed Grammarly, updated the older chapters with it too so that's a treat for you guys from now on I suppose (I want to excuse myself saying English is my second language but honestly I'm just bad at grammar...)

"We have a meeting with Grumman today," Mustang informs Ed on the way to work.

"Oh, your friend's grandpa," he recalls.

"And more importantly our superior officer."

"If you say so."

They walk in silence for a bit.

Ed doesn't like silence.

"Why don't you have someone to come pick you up in the morning?"

"I like to stretch my legs before sitting at a desk all day."

"What if it rains?"

"Then I'll drive myself."

"You have your own car?"

"Yes."

Silence again. Ed works up the nerve to ask:

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You've been asking me questions, Edward," Mustang chuckles.

"Bastard. I meant a more personal one." 

Ed slightly shoves the still chuckling colonel.

"I like to think we've been something like friends for the past five years, so, yes, feel free to ask."

Ed nods. Mustang may be a bastard, but he had indeed been good company once he had stopped talking about recruiting him all the time.

He'd still asked, each time he visited. Used his Alpha voice and everything. But Ed saw it for what it was. 

He wanted to see if Ed would respond to the Alpha command, intrigued by his ability to resist it.

So for more than three years Mustang had been a dinner guest at Pinakos house, walked Den with them (the man loved the old dog) and occasionally served as a sounding board for some of Ed's and Al's theories since there weren't a lot of other (good) alchemists that visited Resembool.

"Are you bonded to an Omega in the military? Like Sergeant Fuery?" 

"No," says Roy decidedly and a weight lifts off of Ed's shoulders. "I abhor the practice. The only Omegas that are even invited to join are those with special talents, mostly, of course, alchemists. If we would do away with the bonding requirement they would have the right to choose for themselves like everybody else, and that shouldn't be such an alien concept! The way Omegas are treated in this society it's…" He shakes his head.

"On top of that, they will have to take heat suppressants for the rest of their lives just because they got bonded to an Alpha who doesn't even want them. I mean, most Alphas in the military also suppress their ruts but it's a choice. A mated Omega going through heat without their mate... that's classified as torture."

Ed is definitely getting Fuery some of his homemade blockers. Commercial ones are fucking vile and he will have to take them for the rest of his life? The chemicals are probably going to kill him by the time he hits 60!

He briefly wonders about the Alphas on the team. Mustang doesn't take anything, judging by that disaster in Resembool, but Hawkeye? After tweaking the sleeping patches he's going to look into creating safer rut-blockers. The military will probably love it.

* * *

Grumman isn't what Ed was expecting. The only General Ed had ever met before had been a customer of the Rockbells, a tall, wide and imposing man with a braying laugh.   
  
This man? He looked… well he looked like someone's grandpa. Which he was, after all.

Just as Ed is contemplating all this, Roy steps on his foot.  _ The right one _ . He is about to bitch him out when he sees the man saluting.  _ Right.  _ Ed hastily brings up his hand, too.

“At ease, boys,” the general smiles. Ed could swear he sees the man’s eyes twinkle. He didn’t even know eyes could do that!

The old Beta looks between him and Roy. 

“Are you here to propose a bond with this soldier, Colonel Mustang?” He asks.

Ed feels himself go beet red, and when he looks at Mustang the bastard is gaping like a fish. 

He is tempted to elbow Mustang to make him correct the general already, but he collects himself before that happens. Lucky him, he’s standing on the Automail side, after all.

“N-no Sir! Major Elric is a Beta. The newest member of my team, the Fullmetal Alchemist.”

“A Beta, you say? Well, he’s awfully short, isn’t he?”

Now the redness in Ed’s face is there for a  _ very  _ different reason.

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT mrmph!”

A white ignition glove slides over his mouth and it takes all he has not to snarl at the growl the Alpha that put it there is emitting. He’s not supposed to act like an animal but everything in him wants to fight Mustang for daring to subdue him like this.

“We’re here for that demonstration you requested, Sir,” Mustang continues like he isn’t holding Ed in a headlock.

“Oh, excellent!” Grumman claps. “Where would you like to do this?”

“Considering Fullmetal’s MO, I’d suggest the parade grounds, Sir.”

“Excellent, excellent! How about we make this interesting? A little friendly competition?” The general suggests, eyes fucking twinkling again.

Ed manages to wrench himself free and immediately agrees.

* * *

This was the worst idea they’ve ever had.

* * *

The parade grounds are in ruins. Roy is preparing for his final strike, intending to singe the cocky beta a little to cement his victory. So far he has just chased him with his flames, reluctant to hurt his sparring partner, even though Edward clearly wasn’t above that. But as he’s about to snap his inner Alpha reacts so violent and viciously it actually makes him jerk and he stumbles backwards, vision blacking out at the edges.

  
  
_ DON’T HARM HIM _

He comes back to himself on the ground where he fell. It can only have been moments, Ed is just now lowering the arm he had protectively thrown over his face, peeking at Roy from where he is crouching.

Ed is 16 and far from a child but, Roy reasons, he had known him for years, had seen him beat down, broken and vulnerable, of course, he wouldn’t be able to hurt him. Not after what had happened in Ishval…

“You O.K. there, Bastard?” Ed jabs, and suddenly Roy remembers that people are watching them, that everyone saw him stumble and fall like that.

“Of course,” he lies and smirks. “Just decided at the last second that I’d rather not pay your hospital bills.”

“You couldn’t afford me,” Ed laughs and raps on his left shin with his right knuckles.

“Precisely my line of thought, Major. Now if you could please fix this mess with as few ornamental additions as possible?” He gestures around them.

“Yeah, sure.”

  
  
He claps and within minutes the parade grounds return to normal. Well, almost. The statue of Hakuro, a recent addition, looks suspiciously like a certain blond alchemist from Resembool. About seven cats are sitting at his feet or are climbing all over him, one looking suspiciously like a gargoyle.

Roy looks at it and shrugs. He supposes there are worse people than Alphonse Elric one could commemorate in stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy: Please don't insult our boss...
> 
> Ed: So you have chosen death.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for all the Paragraph breaks... I'm formatting this in a way I am the most comfortable reading it but I have mad adhd so it's probably a little unusual


End file.
